Rail-brace.



1. LlomEN.

RAIL BRACE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23, 1915.

JOHN J. OBRIEN, 0F ROANOKE, VIRGINIA.

RAIL-BRACE.

Application led October 23, 1915. Serial No. 57,526.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JOHN J. OBni-EN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Roanoke, in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Braces, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improve! ments in means for bracing railway rails to hold the same against lateral movement or tilting, and the object of the invention is to provide a device of this class which shall be extremely simple and cheap to manufacture. With the above and other objects in view, the improvement resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tie provided with my improvement, the rail being shown in section, Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view approximately on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4t is a transverser sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view approximately on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the brace member constructed from a solid piece of material.

The tie 1 is of a boX-like construction and has its upper face adjacent its ends provided with a top plate 1 and its sides, inward from the said plate 1, are notched so that a cushion block 2 inserted through the open end of the tie will support the rail 3 without danger of the said rail contacting the sides of the tie. The tie adjacent its opposite ends may have either integrally formed therewith or secured thereon a vertically disposed lug 4, the same being provided with a longitudinal opening 5 and being further provided with a transverse wedgeshaped opening 6 which intersects its longitudinal opening and channel 5. The tie, adjacent the depressions therein, is further provided with a boss 7, the said boss receiving the threaded end 8 of a vertically disposed bolt 9, nuts 10 being threaded upon the said bolt. The inner flanges of the rails are engaged by spikes s, which enter the cushion blocks 2.

Arranged for longitudinal movement through the opening 5 in the lug 4 is the arm l1 of the brace member 12. In the preferred construction of the brace 12, the same comprises a pair of similar elements 13-l3,

Speci'icaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. et, 1916.

being connected through the medium of suitable securing elements, such as bolts or rivets M lil and what may be termed the inner ends of each of said members 13 is providediwith a head 15, the said head having its outer edge conforming to the cross sectional conguration of the rail, the same being received within the fishing space of the rail and contacting with both the head and the outer longitudinal edge of the flange of said rail. vThe brace member is centrally formed with a longitudinally extending substantially rectangular opening 16, through which the bolt 9 passes, and the nuts 10 bind against the upper face or what I term the arm of the brace 12.

The numeral 17 designates a wedge member which passes through the wedge-shaped opening 6 in the lug 4: and which contacts with the outer edge of the arm 11 of the brace member 12 to assist the nut 10 in holding the brace into tight contact with the rail. The wedge-shaped key 18 is preferably provided with a reduced threaded extension and the numerals 19 designate nuts which engage with the said extension to hold the wedge upon the lug 5 of the brace into engagement with the rail.

In the drawing the tie is shown in the formof a hollow metallic member, and is preferably square in cross section. The

.cushion blocks 2 are shaped to be snugly received in the ends of the tie. The upper' face of the tie is cut longitudinally and transversely, so that the rails may rest directly upon the cushion blocks without con tacting with the tie, and thus the desired amount of yieldability is afforded the said rails. The particular construction of the blocks and tie permits of all of the faces of the said blocks being separately employed to receive the rails, and thus it will be noted that should the rails, incident to the pressure of the weight of the rolling stock passing thereover wear upon one of the faces of the block, or still again should the spikes, for any reason become loosened, the blocks may be drawn through the open ends of the tie (after the spikes have been withdrawn) and turned to present the second smooth bearing face to receive the rails. The spikes s are generally considered sufficient to retain the blocks in the tie, but, if desired, other securing elements may be employed for this pur pose. such as the transverse members indi- Gated by the dotted lines in the drawings.

The hollow tie between the blocks is adapted to receive a liller of any suitable material, and also the ends of the ties, from the outer ends of the blocks 2, are adapted to receive a portion of the road bed, which eectively sustains the tie against lateral movement with respect to the track. The central filler adds to the weight and stability of the tie and assists in retaining the same against movement in any direction.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the simplicity of the device, as well as the advantages thereof will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to which such invention appertains without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what l claim is:

1. The combination with a hollow tie having a rail thereon and having its inner flange secured thereto, of a rail brace for the tie, said brace including an enlarged head hav ing its outer surface shaped to conform to the outer surface of the rail and engaging the said rail, means comprising a member upon the tie having a channel to receive the end of the brace, means carried by the'said member and engaging with the end of the brace for holding the brace adjusted with relation to the rail, means comprising a member Jformedintegral with the tie 4and passing through anopening in the brace for holding the brace against sidewise movement, and an element co-acting with the said means for contacting with the brace for holding the same against vertical movement.

2. The combination with a tie having a rail resting thereo-n and its inner ange secured thereto, of a rail brace including' an arm provided with an enlarged head at one of its ends to engage with the outer face of the rail, the arm of the brace being provided with a vertically extending elongated slot, means comprising a hollow lug on the tie receiving the end of the arm, a wedgeshaped adjustable element carried by the lug and contacting with the end of the said arm, avertically disposed element on the tie passing through the opening in the arm, and an adjustable member on the said element for engaging with the upper Jface of the arm at the opposite 'sides of the opening therein.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN` J. OBRIEN.

Witnesses M. C. KULEY, p M. R. HOUSTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

